Spectacle case



c; R. JERRY SPECTACLE CASE May 22, 1945.

, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19 E9 iiiiiiiiii c. R. JERRY 2,376,487

SPECTACLE CASE May 22,1945.

Filed June 19, 1942 s Sheets-Sheet s INYENTOR 6&7, (ferry at s ATTORNE Patented-May 22, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE T L p 2316,4571 q p SPECTACLE"GASEE' Carl Roland JerrmRotghester, ,l L-lY asslgnor to V Shuron O vptical' companmfilnc Rcchesten, N. Y.', a' corporation of New York Application? .Iune*19, 1942;'Serial- N0J 514L695 My present invention" relates to special recepspecial' receptacles "of-this kind has involved the Figure 9 1s Ta longitudi al section on 1inex9 -9 of Figure=3 looking in the direction of the arrows toward the-hinge; l a

- Figure 10 is a similar: section" of 1 the complete assembly including" the actuating. spring and taken on the line-10 40 of Figure 1';

Figoire 11 is a; furtherenlarged section taaken consideration of'working: into the hinge line of the spectacle case the leather, imitation'leather,

or'other coveringscommonly used on'the exterior to 'prevent "theraw edges thereof from being obviously present or requiring special 'measureskfor their= anchorage on the interior." With the present invention, thetwo elementsof a hinge combination on a body or container and the articulated lidtherefor is so effected" that the covering material 'is hidden in the hinge and the stated smooth exterier at the hinge portion is preserved. l l

To these" and other ends; the'invention' resides im certain improvements and combination of parts; all as will be hereinafter more iulIy described, the novel features' being pointed out in the claims at-the'end' ofthis specification.

l In the drawingsz it Figure :11 is a; top plan viewaofl aispectaclel'case constructed 3 inaaccordance .with and; illustrating one embodiment. f my. invention;

Eigure 2.15:; a muchenlarged ltransyerse section thereoixtakemonqtheline 2-2 ofrFignre 1, the sameshowingithecomplete? assembly; in l line withtheassembly completed;

Figure 6 is a. further enlargedv detail fragmentary seotionl constituting, an enlargement oi'la section-appearing inflFi'gure 2';

mgme'n'is g yl bottom; vieWJof the P i lie ,as appearing. in the. upper' porti of F1 7 mire-3);, i Figureisisan ie 'i h m thehmge fine bfthe a e in rear elevation; a v v Figure 12isa; section taken on the line IZ of"Figure-10butwith theli'd of the' case' -raised or'in-open position; Figure 13 is a, further enlargeddtail fragmem tary horizontal section taken substantially on the line I3"- l 3*of Figure 11 l l Figure 14 is-a detail fragmentary horizontal sectiontaken on the line I4 -i4-fof-Figure11';'

Figure 15' is a" perspective view of the bracket for the anchorage-of one end of the actuating spring clip; and i i Figure" 16 is" further enlarged section taken substantiallyon the line |6 6 or Figure "1 0. Similar reference numerals throughout 1 the several'viewsindicatethe sameparts: To first give a general idea of' what I accom plishwiththis, invention, the spectaclefor slrni larcasecomprises a bodyportion and an articu appearance on theexterior, can berapidly assembled in connection with an actuating spring to hold the lid in' either open or closed" position and yet will in general avoid thes provision of fastening means or parts projectinglinsid the case. Such spectacle cases are usually produced witl'r-a leather, fabric; or similar'covering and another consideration involved in my prese nt-in vention is combining therearraw'edges oithese coveringson both the body and lid so that they not only areconcealed'at the hinge line but'are secured or clamped inand'by the hinge assembly itself. In" other vv ords, in the practice-offmyinvention; thebody portion and the-- lid portion of the spectacle case arefirst produced'withthis coveringmaterial or'outerlamination attached,

they are then assembled in" this condition and,

finally, such hinge-connection is' completedand the before mentioned actuating spring added. liiiitflall of these operations"are' oonducted' in-a way that does-not'lead to thecovering or finishing material b'eing scratched 'or marred by theia's sembly tools and l the asSembIy-opeIatiOnSL- Referring more-particularly to thedrawings; I

indicates generally the.- sheet metal? body; and 2 the sheet rnetalflid of a spectacle case (xi -the- (Figure 7) of the pintle.

usual or any desired contour. At the front side the body has a reentrant lip 3 over which the bent down forward edge 4 of the lid engages. In general, the case assumes the closed position of Figure 2 or the open position of Figure 12 in either of which it is selectively held by the actuating spring arrangements hereinafter described. I}

Referring momentarily more particularly to Figure 3, the rear edge of lid 2 is divided into a plurality of projecting tongues of a generally 8 shape, that is, they each proceed forwardly and inwardly of the case in a loop 6, thence rearwardly and forwardly again to form another loop I and the latter is initially clamped tightly about and confines a straight pintle 8. But neither the loop nor hence the pintle projects rearwardly beyond the plane of the rear wall 9 of the lid and l the rear wall II) of the body portion I.

When the lid 2 is so assembled with the pintle B, the :loops 6 of the tongues beingstill open as in Figure 3, the leather, fabric, or other similar finishing covering II is applied and certain portions I2 of the raw edge at the rear are brought well into loops 6. At the same time body portion I is similarly prepared. It also has 8 shaped tongues I3 looped forwardly at I4 and thence rearwardly at I5, the latterloop being temporarily left open. These tongues I3, as appears fromFigures 7, 8, 9 and 10, alternate with the tongues 5 on the lid as in any piano type hinge of this general nature. Still referring principally to Figure 3 and also to Figure 9, certain portions I6 of the raw edge of the covering I1 of the body portion I extend into the loops I4 while the intervening portions I8 are cut to extend clown onto the interior of wall I0. In the same way it should have been said of the intervening portions I9 of the covering I I of lid 2 that they are interspa-ced between the tongues 5 and extend up onto the interior of wall 9 of the lid. By this I mean, that the coverings I I and I] are cut at their rear rawedges with a profile outline producing alternated long and short tongues. The long tongues I9 of the covering II and I8- of the covering I! are the ones that pass into the case between the metal hinge knuckles, .the ofiset of th pintle best shown in Figure 9 giving plenty of room for the accomplishment of this, whereas the short tongues I2 of the'covering II and I6 of the covering I! are the ones that are concealed within the cavities provided bythe loops 6 and I4. Otherwise'and customarily such tongues have to pass clear around the pintle so' that they contribute an extra thickness to interfere with the hinge action as well as being subject to that much more wear and dislocation. In other words, these raw edges are taken care of alternately in concealed cavities at the bases of the sheet metal knuckles and within the case. Thus, assuming that the covering is leather, there is no 'contact of leather against leathen; If there be any contact, it is leather against metal. It is now to be understood that generally and usually these coverings I I and I! are cemented in place.

When the parts have been, so constructed as in Figure 3, they are brought together as shown in Figure 4, that is, the loops I5 of tongues I3 on the bodyare hooked over the exposed portions 20 Thereupon, with suitable dies or tools, the partially open lid tongues 5 andlthe entirely open body tongue I 3 are compressed so that the loops I5 of the latter are closed about the pintle 8 and the loops 6 and I4 of the lid and body portions, respectively clamp down upon the tongues I2 and I6 of the covering material. The result is the interlocked structure of Figure 5, comparing which to Figure 4 the theretofore slightly separated body and lid portions I and 2 are seen to be brought into ultimate proper sealing relationship. This crimping or consolidating of the parts is also shown in Figure 2, for instance, and on a larger scale in Figure 6. The result of these'op'erations is that the hinge is permanently closed, the hinge axis is brought into or forwardly of the rear walls of the body portion and the lid, and a smooth or flush rear exterior is produced on the case as a whole.

The mode of constructing and assemblying lends itself to the application of the actuating spring that holds the case securely, selectively, in the customary open or closed positions. Referring, with respect to this feature, more particularly to Figures 10 to 15 inclusive, the spring proper is constituted by a bar or resilient wire 2| located on the wall II] of the body I and extending generally longitudinally of the pintle 8. Its ends are anchored in angular offsets or pockets 22 formed'in tongues 23 brought down from the edge of the rear wall In of body I in alteration with tongues I3, that is, between two of the tongues I3 of body I where the excess material is not used for the purpose of forming the hinge. Hooked over the center of the spring is a lower lip 24 on a bowed clip 25 that spans the pintle 8 and the hinge connection in general. Its other similar lip 26 is hooked over a ledge portion 21 on a bracket plate 28 spot welded or otherwise secured to the rear wall 9 of lid portion 2. It becomes obvious from a comparison of Figures 2 and 12 of the drawings, for instance, that as the eye glass case is opened and closed. the resultant line of force exerted by the spring 2! and the clip 25 (which in itself may also have spring action) passes through the center of the hinge and hence holds the lid and body in either of said positions.

An eye lass case constructed in accordance with my invention may be preliminarily, formed and ultimately assembled with ease and precision, thus lending itself to mass production, while at the same time it possesses a neat and attractive appearance from the exterior and is mechanically efiicient. 1

The foregoing description has not taken into consideration the application of the customary The utility of my invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art who, as in latter day practice, are substituting imitation leather having a fabric base for genuine leather covering for receptacles of this kind. The raw edges of a covering with a fabric base are particularly difficult to hold down where the workings of the hinge joints frequently disturb them. With my invention these shorter tongues I2 and I3 ofthe raw edges are looked as aforesaid in the Sshaped knuckles intervening between the longer covering tongues I8 and I9 which are brought into the interior of the case, the tongues I9 being under the free pintle portions 20, so that the hinge ac- 1 wall of the case substantially flush.

1. In a hinged spectaclecase or the like, em-

bodying a. body portion and an articulated lid, the

combination with a pintle, of complementary substantially S shaped integral tongues on the rear of the body and lid forming loops opening in 01)- posite directions the terminal portions of which tongues constitute knuckles embracing the :pintle and the intermediate loops of which project into the interior of the case leaving the exterior rear 2. In a hinged spectacle case or the like, embodylng a body portion and an articulated lid, the combination with a pintle, of complementary substantially S shaped integral tongues on the.

rear of the body and lid the terminal portions of which constitute knuckles embracing the pintle and the intermediate loops of which project into the interior of the case leaving the exterior rear wall of the case substantially flush, and outer covering material on the body and lid, rear raw edges of which are concealed and clamped within the said intermediate loops of the tongues.

3. In a hinged spectacle case or the like, embodying a body pOI'tion and an articulated lid, the combination with a pintle and knuckles on one of said elements embracing said pintle, of

substantially 8 shaped integral tongues on the other element the terminal portions of which also constitute knuckles embracing the pintle and the intermediate loops of which project into the interior of the case leaving the exterior rear wall of the case flush.

4. In a hinged spectacle case or the like, embodying a body portion and an articulated lid, the combination with a pintle and knuckles on one of said elements embracing said pintle, of substantially S shaped tongues 0n the other element the terminal portions of which also constitute knuckles embracing the pintle and the intermediate loops of which project into the interior of the case leaving the exterior rear wall of the case flush, and outer covering material on the last mentioned element rear raw edges of whichare concealed and clamped within the said intermediate loops of the tongues.

5. The combination with a sheet metal spectacle case or the like, embodying an articulated lid and a body portion hinged together by means of a pintle and integral alternately spaced knuckle tongues embracing the pintle and proceeding from the rear walls of said elements, said knuckle tongues having cavities in their bases, of outer covering material onthe lid and body portion rear raw edges of which are secured within said cavities.

. CARL ROLAND J ERRY. 

